Washing machine appliances generally form wash and rinse fluids to clean clothing articles disposed within a wash basket of the appliance. The wash fluid can include, for example, water and various fluid additives, e.g., detergent, fabric softener, and/or bleach. The fluid additives can be mixed with water within a wash tub of the appliance to form the wash fluid. Various fluid additives may also be added to water to form the rinse fluid.
To introduce one or more fluid additives into the wash tub, a user can manually add the fluid additive to the wash tub and/or the wash basket. For example, after starting the appliance, the user can pour detergent directly into the wash basket. Conversely, certain washing machine appliances include features for receiving fluid additives and dispensing the fluid additives during operation of the appliance. For example, a tray may be mounted to or directly beneath top panel of a vertical axis washing machine appliance that can receive a fluid additive and direct the fluid additive into a wash tub of the appliance. Similarly, a horizontal axis washing machine appliance can include a drawer with a container mounted therein that receives a fluid additive and directs the fluid additive into a wash tub of the appliance.
Such trays or drawers may contain one or more compartments for the receipt of one or more fluid additives. The fluid additive contained in a compartment is flushed from the compartment into the wash tub of the appliance through an influx of water into the compartment. Usually, each fluid additive is directed to the wash tub at a different point in the wash cycle. Thus, the water introduced to flush one compartment should not enter any other compartment, and the fluid additive in one compartment should not enter any other compartment.
Accordingly, a washing machine appliance having a fluid additive dispenser would be useful. More particularly, a washing machine appliance having a fluid additive dispenser that seals one compartment of the dispenser from another compartment of the dispenser without e.g., welding or gluing parts of the dispenser would be useful.